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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

WHERE IS THE JESUS TREND?

The church has always been strongly opinionated about behavior; not as much about belief.

Beliefs? Yes. Belief of, in, and through God? Not so much.

Tullian Tchividjian penned, Our survival mechanism is to measure spiritual maturity almost exclusively in terms of behavior--what we do and don't do. Only the "toxin" of God's grace can turn that mechanism upside down. Real spiritual progress happens when our typical natural understanding of progress is rooted out. The key to Christian growth, then, is not first behaving better; it's believing better--believing more deeply what Jesus has already accomplished.

In general, the American church is experiencing fundamental stagnancy because Tchividjian's observation is right on. We have traded a belief system for a behavior code and then failed (on many fronts) in both. Even belief (system) has taken a deep hit for such has been focused upon believing right things the right ways instead of believing the right person.

I reference first and foremost myself. My past is not a religion in vain. However, it is marred by debate and control over matters that had to do with flesh-behavior religion more than it had to do with the risk all for Jesus. This pattern continues.

I believe two things about that question. 1) I'm sure there have been many voices calling for such a trend; but I was too steeped in my decent and in order enamorization that I didn't hear. 2) Next, I believe the call is growing and more are hearing. I want in on that one.

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Terry Rush

My World

We all get lost in our workaholism, people pleasing, and numbing behaviors as we try to escape the pain of life and the messiness of loving others. But some of us appear more whole than others, and that may be the greatest danger of all. It results in the last addiction: we rely on ourselves to heal ourselves, and so we miss the healing path.

Sharon Hersh...The Last Addiction

I miss being in the company of risky and complex thinkers, people who are invested in our culture and who challenge me to think to the edges of my comfort zones. I believed then and I believe now that where everybody thinks the same nobody thinks very much.Rosaria Butterfield...The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert